Pressure, Power and Parma Ham....

– and neither team disappointed the 30+ crowd in a fiercely fought battle which ended in a brilliant victory for the visiting Leos.

Once again Leos, led by CJ+, edged the opposition for experience (Thommo, Cadgey & Scotty), but the home side looked young, fit and quick – three traits Leos 3rds tend to lack. The game plan was simple – quick pops and forward drives to tie in the defence before allowing Tim to get the backs going. For 30 minutes the plan was carried out perfectly. A huge performance from all the forwards saw 30+yard driving mauls, 100% lineout success and three early tries, two for Carlos and another from Phil the Power, with King Richard of Scot converting two. Unfortunately, a mixture of superior fitness from Otliensians and complacency from Leos meant the last ten minutes of the half were spent in the Leos 22, with Otliensians finally scoring a deserved try giving a half time score of 19-5. Treat number one for the day came when Leos were presented with a plate of half time oranges allowing the elder statesmen of the group to reminisce about the good old times!

The second half started strangely, with Otliensians opting for a kick at goal from an early penalty – not something you normally see in social rugby. This was followed by fifteen score free minutes of brilliant rugby. Otliensians had opted for a change in tactics and began kicking long to tire out the Leos forwards, excellent catch/counter attack work from Billy and Mike supported by runs from Poll, Si H and both Gareths eventually saw Leos crossing the line again. Quick ball from Rob, a brilliant delayed ball from Niall and a good angle from Gav opened up the home defence and lead to the bonus point try...converted by The Power. Further tries were added from Carlos and Gav, with Otliensians scoring a late consolation try making the final score 13-36.

Treats number two and three welcomed the victorious Leos team after the game, with a warming cup of tea waiting for us in the changing room and an even more warming (some would say scalding) team bath allowing further reminiscing, general nakedness and some decent rugby banter. CJ+ added a modern twist to this traditional setting by passing round some Parma ham, which was a new delicacy to some of the Otliensian players who seemed wary of eating ‘raw bacon’.

With the great hospitality from Old Otliensians, the excellent rugby and the quality of the post match stew, it was suggested we should play here every week!

Gav Tinch - Roving Hooker